Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 11,653 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. raised its stake in Herc by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,653 shares to own 175,066 shares worth about $25.98 million, roughly 0.53% of the company.
• Analysts are mixed but cautiously positive: the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $157.71, while firms have both raised (Barclays to $175) and cut targets and one outlet (Weiss) rates the stock a sell.
• Recent results showed an EPS beat ($2.07 vs. $1.87) but a slight revenue miss ($1.21B vs. $1.25B); shares trade near $100.20 (1-year range $88.45–$188.35), market cap ~$3.34B, and the company pays a $0.70 quarterly dividend (~2.8% yield).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,066 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 11,653 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.53% of Herc worth $25,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HRI. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Herc by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 248 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Herc by 628.8% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 430 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HRI shares. Barclays upped their price target on Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Herc from $189.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp cut their target price on Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.71.

Herc Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Herc stock opened at $100.20 on Thursday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $88.45 and a one year high of $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $125.92 and its 200 day moving average is $136.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -556.68, a PEG ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.81.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.20. Herc had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 0.02%.The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Herc's dividend payout ratio is presently -1,555.56%.

Herc Profile

Herc Holdings Inc NYSE: HRI operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company's fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.